Soil samplers of various types are known in the prior art. Such samplers can be of the auger type which rotate as the sampler is pushed into the earth, or can be of the force or penetrating type in which a hollow cylinder or probe is pushed vertically into the earth, without rotation. Depending on soil conditions and the region of the country in which a sample is to be taken, each of these samplers has its advantages.
It has been found, however, that the force type of sampler which includes a hollow probe which is forced into the earth is capable of taking more accurate representative samples of the soil of various different consistencies, and can also take samples from a much greater depth than the auger type samplers. In addition, the sample taken by the probe sampler is much more accurate where analysis of samples at different depths is required.
While the soil sampler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,393 has proven itself to be quite reliable, the samples taken by the tubular probe disclosed by that patent are frequently difficult to remove from the probe and require disconnecting the probe from the power cylinder in order to remove the sample. Another inconvenience of the arrangement of that patent is that a portion of the bed of the rear of the truck is obstructed by the sample taker so that the available loading space at the rear of the truck and the space available for carrying other cargo on the bed of the truck is somewhat limited.
Soil analysis is vital to present day commercial farming. Because of the high cost of fertilizer and other soil nutrients and chemicals, it is highly desirable to know the precise constituents of the soil so that the farmer can accurately fertilize and otherwise treat the soil to provide the required acidity or alkalinity for the crop to be planted.
In the past, many farmers have simply guessed at the amount of fertilizer required and have routinely applied lime to sweeten the soil, frequently in amounts much greater than those actually required for the crop to be planted. In many instances, the farmer routinely applies the same amount as the year before assuming that the soil conditions remain relatively constant from year to year.
While some farmers regularly sample and obtain analysis of their soil, many do not because of the difficulty, in the past, of quickly obtaining representative soil samples of sufficient depths to be of value. Even those farmers who normally regularly take soil samples, may often omit taking samples during a particular growing season because of unexpected conditions such as a late thaw or other work which they regard to be more important than soil sample taking because of the time required in the past to obtain representative samples.
While numerous attempts have been made in the past to provide reliable sample takers which can quickly take soil samples, the known prior devices have been slow and difficult to operate, require modification to a vehicle for mounting, and are either expensive or unreliable and subject to frequent breakdown. Another defect of such prior devices is that they are incapable of obtaining reliable samples of widely varying soil consistencies, particularly in relatively moist soil. For example, an auger cannot take an accurate sample of wet clay because the clay sticks to the auger, and clay is quite difficult to remove from a tubular sample probe.
In accordance with Applicant's invention, the shortcomings of the prior art are effectively overcome in an inexpensive and reliable manner.